Montreal, Canada

MONTREAL, a city of the province of Quebec, the commercial
metropolis of the Dominion of Canada, situated on the S. side of the
Island of Montreal, in the St. Lawrence river (here above 2 miles
wide), 180 miles S.W. of Quebec, 620 miles from the sea, 420 miles
N. of New York. Lat. 45° 31' N ,
lon. 73° 34' W. It is at the
head of ocean navigation, and at the commencement of lake and river
navigation ; and has railway communication with the chief cities and
towns in the Dominion of Canada and the United States.

The Island of Montreal, on which the town is built, is situated at
the confluence of the Ottawa with the St. Lawrence. It is 32 miles
long by about 10 miles broad at the widest part, generally level
with the exception of the mountain which rises N.W. of the city. The
soil is for the most part fertile and well cultivated, and is
watered by numerous small streams, and the climate particularly
favorable for the growth of nearly every kind of grain, fruit and
vegetable.

Montreal occupies a low tract of land about 2 miles wide between a
consider-able and very beautiful elevation called "Mount Royal," and
the river. It is divided into 9 wards, and has over 200 miles of
streets and lanes. Some of the streets are narrow and ill paved but
the majority will compare favorably with those of any other city on
this continent. The principal streets have largo well built
edifices, constructed chiefly of limestone quarried near the city.
These buildings, combined with the effect of the lofty towers and
spires, gives the city a very imposing appearance when viewed from a
distance, Notre Dame is the main street running on the centre of the
ridge on which the city is built, but St. James street is wider and
more elegant. The chief business streets are St. Paul, Not e Dame,
St. Lawrence, McGill, St. Joseph and Craig.

Institute, a Canadian Institute, Mer-chants Exchange, Mercantile
Library, Hoard of Trade, Cora Exchange, &c, and 58 churches viz:
Church of Eng-land 12; Church of Rome 18; Church of Scotland 6;
Presbyterian 5; Wesleyan Methodist 6; New Connexion Methodist 1;
Baptist 3; Congregational 2; American Presbyterian 1; Unitarian 1;
German Protestant 1; French Evangelical 1: Swedenborgian 1; and 2
Synagogues. The Cathedral of Notre Dame is capable of containing
from 10/00 to 12,000 persons It is 255 feet long and 145 feet broad,
with two towers 220 feet in height In the N.E. tower is a fine chime
of bells, and in the N W is a bell weighing 3,000 tons. Christ
Church Cathedral is the most perfect specimen of gothic architecture
in America. It is built of Montreal limestone with Caen stone
dressings, obtained from Normandy. The Church of the Gesu, a very
imposing edifice, is 230 feet long and 102 feet wide, with a
transept 152 long, and will accommodate over 4,530 persons. The
walls and ceiling of the interior are beautifully frescoed. Another
magnificent pile slowly being constructed is the Roman Catholic
Bishop's Church, St. Peter's It is after a model of its
namesake in Rome, and will be one of the finest ecclesiastical
edifices on this continent. Trinity, St. George, St. Andrew, St
Paul, and the majority of the other churches are all exceedingly
handsome edifices and add much to the beauty of the city.

The largest banking houses in the Dominion have their head offices
in Montreal, are mostly situated in Place d'Armes and St. James
street, and consist of very handsome and costly structures.

The harbor of Montreal, which is formed towards the St. Lawrence, is
secure, and the quays are unsurpassed by those of any city in
America; built of limestone, and uniting with the locks and cut
stone wharves of the Lacbine Canal, they present, for several miles,
a display of continuous masonry which h is few parallels. No
unsightly warehouses disfigure the river side. A broad terrace,
faced with grey limestone, the parapets of which are surmounted with
a substantial iron railing, divides the city from the river
throughout its whole extent. Improvements in the harbor (which is
controlled by Commissioners) are yearly being made to accommodate
the large increase of shipping.

The following table shows the number and tonnage of ocean vessels
which arrived at Montreal during the past ten years, viz :

Vessels

Tons

1863

504

269,224

1864

378

161,911

1865

358

152,943

1866

516

205,775

1867

404

199,053

1868

478

198,759

1869

557

259,863

1870

680

316,846

1871

664

353,621

1872

872

696,795

The duties have increased from $1,913,440 in 1354 to $5,358,701 in 1872; and
the value of imports was respectively $18,729,612 in 1854, and 240,088,665 in
1872. The value of exports in the latter year was $18,171,384.

Montreal is the seat of the Grand Trunk railway. The head offices and chief
works are at Point St. Charles, a suburb in the western part of the city. The
Victoria Bridge here spans the River St. Lawrence. The first stone of this great
masterpiece of Stephenson was laid July 20th, 1854, and the first train crossed
over it Dec. 19th, 1859. It is 9,184 lineal feet in length— 24 spans of 242 feet
each and one (the centre, 60 feet above the river,) of 330 feet. The bridge cost
nearly $7,000,000.

In 1873 there were in Montreal 58 churches (already enumerated) and 2
synagogues; 9 fire stations, 20 banks, 4 savings banks, about 40 assurance and
insurance agencies, 3 medical schools, 2 general hospitals, an asylum for aged
and infirm women, 3 orphan asylums, a lying in hospital, 2 magdalene asylums, a
dispensary, a ladies benevolent society, 2 houses of refuge, an infants home, a
newsboys home, and a number of institutions under charge of Sisters of Charity.
There, were published in the same year 7 daily, 4 tri-weekly, 17 weekly, 1
fortnightly, and 15 monthly newspapers and periodicals ; besides other religious
and scientific journals.

The educational means of the city comprise a University with faculties of law,
art, science, and medicine, open to persons of all religious denominations ; a
Roman Catholic Theological College, a Jesuit College, a High School, two Normal
Schools, several classical and scientific academics, and a number of private and
public schools; also two affiliated medical colleges, one to Bishop's College,
Lennoxville, the other to Victoria College, Cobourg.

Montreal returns 3 members to the House of Commons and 3 to the Provincial
Legislature. It is the seat of the Sec of the Metropolitan Bishop of Canada, and
of the See of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Montreal. The climate in summer is
hot, often reaching 90 in the shade ; and the winters are severe, the
temperature ranging very often from zero to 10 and even 3u J below it. Pop. in
1844,44,093; 1851, 37,715; 1861, 90,323 ; and in 1871, 107,225 — composed
chiefly of French Canadians, English, Irish and Scotch.

The following table shows the various religious denominations in Montreal in
1871:

Roman Catholics

77,930

Church of England

11,573

Presbyterians

9,104

Methodists

4,503

Baptists

928

Congregationalists

891

Unitarians

474

Jews

409

Lutherans

254

Brethren

149

Christian Conference

20

Evangelical Association

22

Universalists

30

Swedenborgians

18

Quakers

14

Irvingites

13

No religious belief

13

Not given

48

Other Denominations

782

Total

107,225

The history of Montreal dates back to the 3rd of October, 1535, when Jacques
Carrier first landed on its shores. An Indian village called Hochelaga existed
lure at this time. The way to it was through large fields of Indian corn. Its
outline was circular; and it was encompassed by three separate rows of
palisades, or rather picket fences, one within the other, well secured and put
together. A single entrance was left in this rude fortification, but guarded
with pikes and stakes and every precaution taken against siege or attack. The
cabins or lodges of the inhabitants, about 50 in number, were constructed in the
form of a tunnel each 50 feet in length by 15 in breadth. They were formed of
wood covered with bark. Above the doors of these houses as well as along the
outer rows of palisades ran a gallery ascended by ladders, where stones end
other missiles were laid in order for the defense of the place. Each house
contained several chambers, and the whole were so arranged as to enclose an open
court yard, where the fire was made Carder named the place Mount Royal. It first
began to be settled by Europeans in 1542, a d exactly one century after the spot
destined for the city was consecrated with due solemnities, commended to the
"Queen of the Angels,' and called Ville Marie, a. name which it retained for a
long period. In 1760 it was taken by the English. At this time it was a a well
peopled town of an oblong form, surrounded by a wall flanked with eleven
redoubts — a ditch about 8 feet deep and a proportionable width, but dry, and a
fort and citadel, the batteries of which commanded the streets of the town from
one end to the other. The town was at this time divided into upper and lower
town, the upper town being the level of the present Court Horse In the lower
town the merchants and men of business generally resided and here were situated
the royal magazines, the armory, and the nunnery hospital. In the upper town
were the principal buildings, such as the palace of the Governor, the houses of
the chief officers, the Convent of the Recollets, the Jesuit's Church and
Seminary, the Free School, and the Parish Church. the houses were solidly
constructed in that semi-monastic style peculiar to Rouen, Caen and other towns
in Normandy. Early in the present century vessels of more than 300 tons could
not ascend to Montreal, and its foreign trade was carried on by small brigs and
barges. In 1809 the first steam vessel, "The Accommodation," built by the lion.
John Molson, made a trip to Quebec; she had berths for about 20 passengers.
Years of industry, intlligence enterprise and labor have produced a mighty
contrast — Ocean steamers of 4,000 tons, the magnificent floating palaces of the
Richelieu Company, and ships from 700 to 2,000 tons, from all parts of the
world, now lay along side the wharves of the harbor, which are not equal on this
continent, in point of extent, accommodation, approach and cleanliness. In 1832
the cholera raged in Montreal with great violence carrying of 1,843 inhabitants
in a population of little mote than 30,000 In April, 1849, a political mob
burned the Parliamentary buildings (which were situated on the site of the Si.
Ann's market , and the seat of Government was in consequence removed to Quebec,
subsequently lo Toronto, and finally to Ottawa In July, 1852, a destructive fire
laid waste a large part of the city, burning 1,108 houses and destroying
property valued at $1,363,264 In 1800, the city was visited by the Prince of
Wales; in 1862 by the Duke of Edinburgh: and in l869 Prince Arthur made it his
residence for several months The Hotel Dieu was founded in 1644 by Madame de
Bouillon, and six years afterwards the Convent of Noire Dame was founded by
Mademoiselle Marguerrite de Bourgeois. In 1663, the Company of Montreal was
dissolved, they having already sold their rights to the religions order of St.
Sulpice at Pans, by whom was founded the Seminary belonging to that order, and
still exiting in the city. The two oldest churches in Montreal are the
Bonsecours (Roman Catholic) and St. Gabriel (Church of Scotland). Tho former was
erected in 1658; was burnt in 1764, but rebuilt in 1771. The latter was built in
1791 Montreal is surrounded by villages whose population numbers over 20,000.

Lovell's Gazetteer of British North America,
Edited by P.A. Crossby, 1873